Question

At age 85, Batman’s immune system does not respond to vaccines as well as it did when he was younger, the atrophy of which endocrine gland is likely responsible for this?

a. Thyroid
b. Anterior pituitary
c. Adrenal
d. Thymus

Answer 1

The Thymus trains T lymphocytes to help fight infection. Helper T cells regulate both the innate and adaptive immune responses and help determine which immune responses the body makes to a particular pathogen. Cytokine signals produced by helper T cells enhance the microbicidal function of macrophages and the activity of killer T cells so the atrophy of the Thymus can lead to an immune system that responds less to vaccines.